League: Kangaroos demand ruling on narrow pitches

By PETER JESSUP

Kiwis coach Daniel Anderson hatched a cunning plan to rob Australia of its speed advantage and deliver a 16-16 draw in Saturday's Tri-Nations series opener.

The pitch at North Harbour Stadium was 61m-wide and the 7m cut from the standard NRL size of 68m pushed play to the centre of the pitch, where the Kiwis forwards dominated.

The Australians were spitting blood afterwards and not just from the bashing they took. Rugby League International Federation rules state a maximum field width of 68m but do not insist on a minimum.

Kangaroos coach Wayne Bennett had no comment on the issue but Australian Rugby League secretary Geoff Carr emailed England immediately after the game to insist it be raised when they arrived in London and that a standard be set.

The tight fields in England and the narrow lines at the Ericsson Stadium's No 2 ground, which is 61m-wide, were the inspiration behind Anderson's idea to shrink the turf. The main ground at Ericsson is NRL regulation size.

The result was that, following a 10-minute blitz in which the Australian backs scored three times down the Kiwis' right, they could not cross again. The width in attack that produced those early tries was shut down. Twice, Kangaroos were flung into touch on early tackles, confused about where the sideline was.

The Kiwis scored first, Vinnie Anderson busting the line, and last when Francis Meli ducked from dummy-half. The game finished with a flurry of field-goal attempts as the players realised there was no golden-point extra time, Craig Gower missed twice and Darren Lockyer's second attempt skewed to the left as referee Russell Smith blew fulltime.

Thomas Leuluai had a shot from near halfway but it hit the howling wind and fell low and short, one of the few times when he did not produce something.

Sonny Bill Williams was man-of-the-match after running for the first 60 minutes then the last 10 with incredible impact. He made 17 carries for 168m gain and completed 18 tackles.

On debut Brent Webb, Roy Asotasi and Louis Anderson were all valuable contributors. Matt Utai, Tony Puletua and Joe Galuvao who all now go for surgery, were reliable and committed.

It was a good result for international football, conceded the Kangaroos coach Bennett. It was only the second draw in 102 contests between the countries but both coaches were happy with it, not least because they are flying to London to play again in a week and wanted to avoid injury.

"Both sides deserved a point out of that," Bennett said. "The ball movement was incredible in the conditions."

Olympic triathlon gold medallist Hamish Carter spoke to the Kiwis before the match, and rugby great Colin Meads visited them afterwards to urge continued effort in England. Sean Fitzpatrick will address them before the rematch with the Kangaroos in London.

The Kiwis Australian fullback Webb said he felt most nervous about getting the haka right. Captain Ruben Wiki hugged him afterwards and said "Kiwi forever". Webb said he felt like a New Zealander. "It's unbelievable the way I've been accepted."

Williams was his usual self-effacing self. He didn't feel like the man-of-the-match, he said, after hurting himself in an early tackle. But his two big breaks were the only ones by a forward all game and he brought the crowd to their feet with a late 40m charge.

Leuluai echoed many when he said confidence was brimming ahead of the rematch. He felt more comfortable than he had in the test the same time last year, he said. But he still felt he'd let the team down. "We probably should have won," he said, ruing the failed 75th-minute field goal attempt and wondering why he didn't try a high kick instead. "I thought there was less time left."

All bar the Aussies went home happy. It was their fifth visit to North Harbour, with just the one win in 1998.

Meanwhile, five British-based players were yesterday added to the New Zealand squad for the English leg of the Tri-Nations.

The quintet were unavailable for the drawn test against Australia because of their involvement in yesterday's English Super League grand final in Manchester.

They are Bradford skipper and utility Robbie Paul, forward Logan Swann and backs Lesley Vainikolo and Shontayne Hape, and Leeds second rower Ali Lauitiiti.

Hape and Vainikolo scored for the Bulls at Old Trafford, but they were unable to prevent Leeds from claiming the Super League title with a 16-8 victory.

The Kiwi squad contains four uncapped players in Hape, Melbourne Storm prop Alex Chan, Bulldogs outside back Jamaal Lolesi and Wests Tigers centre Dene Halatau.

While the tour party will be 25 strong, the selectors released just 24 names, with the availability of new father Motu Tony still to be confirmed.